What is light and what are its properties? And what do we mean by "synchrotron light" and how can we use it in a experiment? Thease were some questions that ALBA answered during the European Researcher's Night hold last Friday 25th September at Cerdanyola del Vallès.
Around 650 people attended the Museum of Art of Cerdanyola to meet reachers and technicians from the ALBA Synchrotron in order to know more about how ALBA works and which its main features are. The mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès, Carles Escolà, present at the event, highlighted that the city is proud of hosting a facility such like ALBA. Caterina Biscari, director of ALBA, insisted on the benefit of organizing these type of events to make people forget fear of science.
Games and demostrations at the garden of the museum. Next, the shadows theatre.
The first activity was a hot chocolate party, followed by the shadow theatre play "The pied piper of Hamelin". During the event, there were also available demonstrations and experiments, an exhibition to explain how synchrotron-based research has improved our world and a drawing contest for kids from 6 to 14 years old.
The aim of the event is to bring science to the general public, showing the everyday life of researchers. This year, all the planned activties were linked to the International Year of Light 2015.
The president of the Executive Commission of ALBA, Ramon Pascual, the director of ALBA, Caterina Biscari, and the mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès, Carles Escolà. Next, image of one of the conferences.
A project with the support of the European Commission
The European Researchers' Night is an initiative of the European Commission as a part of the Marie Curie Actions, which is a program of the European Union to enhance European researchers' careers.
The European Researchers' Night has been celebrated every year since 2005, the last Friday of September for promoting the research, encouraging youth interest in science careers and offering the general public a closer vision of science and researchers.
The event organized by the ALBA Synchrotron during the European Researchers' Night takes part of a consortium of 14 different partners from all around Spain: universities, research centers, science museums and associations.
The ALBA activities for the European Researchers' Night are cofinanced for the European Commission with the collaboration of the Ajuntament de Cerdanyola del Vallès.
